David and Simon Reuben, billionaire brothers who reside in Monaco, have jumped into a messy saga in India that could decide who controls the historic Plaza Hotel and two other marquee hotels in New York and London.

The brothers have completed a deal with the lender to the hotel’s owner, the Indian conglomerate Sahara Group. The Reubens are paying more than $800 million, or roughly face value, to the Bank of China for the debt on the Plaza, London’s Grosvenor House and the Dream Hotel in downtown Manhattan, according to people familiar with the matter.

It may not seem like it to anyone who has taken the subway at rush-hour lately, but for most New Yorkers the city has become less crowded.

The average resident of New York City lives in a less crowded neighborhood than a typical New Yorker in 1970 even though the city’s population has grown, according to the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods in 2014 report, to be released by New York University’s Furman Center on Tuesday.

The reason why most New Yorkers have more elbow room is because some of the densest neighborhoods, such as the south Bronx, Lower East Side and Harlem, saw steep population when New York lost nearly 1 million people at its nadir. Read More »

The newly-completed One World Trade Center is perhaps the most high-profile publicly-owned office tower in the country, developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

That doesn’t mean its financial information is public.

In response to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act by The Wall Street Journal and other organizations and individuals, the agency has taken the position that a tenant’s rent is private information, and should be withheld given that it could impair the agency. Read More »

Offices overlooking Central Park may not seem like they come very cheap. But compared with other major cities around the globe, offices in New York – and the rest of the U.S. – are a relative bargain, according to a new report out Wednesday from CBRE Group Inc.

The brokerage ranked occupancy costs in cities around the world. Those costs, which include rent as well as taxes and maintenance, were highest in London’s West End, coming out to $274 per square foot per year, followed by Hong Kong’s Central market with $251 per square foot. Read More »

Rockpoint Group is cashing out of a midtown Manhattan hotel just two years after checking in.

The Boston-based real-estate investor and its partner, hotel operator Highgate Hotels LP, acquired The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel for $275 million in 2012.

After putting in a minimal investment, the partners recently agreed to sell a 97% stake in the nearly 700-room hotel for $530 million to Qatar’s Al Rayyan Tourism and Investment Company, say people familiar with the matter. Highgate will continue to operate and remain an owner in the property. Read More »

When it comes to buying trophy U.S. properties, foreign investors are at the front of the line.

As the Journal reported Monday, Bank of China Ltd. has agreed to buy the 28-story 7 Bryant Park, the under-construction Manhattan office tower set to be New York’s newest skyscraper when completed next year.

Eric Danziger, the new chief executive officer of Hampshire Hotels Management LLC, wants to turn the small boutique hotel company into a global player.

His goal is to expand the company’s portfolio of 11 hotels, mostly in New York City, to 300 properties worldwide by 2020. Mr. Danziger’s plan calls for turning the company’s Dream, Night and Time hotels in Manhattan into their own brands that he will look to expand in major metropolitan areas by cutting management deals with the property owners.

At the same time, Hampshire intends to create a new three-star lifestyle brand, called Unscripted, which will focus on suburban and secondary markets. Mr. Danziger says it will try to convert owners of brands like InterContinental Hotels Group’s Crowne Plaza, Doubletree by Hilton and Radisson into his new brand. Read More »

SL Green Realty Corp. has taken a big step forward with plans for a giant skyscraper by Grand Central Terminal by cutting a deal with an anchor tenant.

TD Bank has signed a lease to take 200,000 square feet of office and retail at One Vanderbilt Ave., SL Green announced Monday, giving a big boost to the landlord’s proposed 1.6 million square-foot building that is to soar 1,500 feet to the top of its spire.

The company recently signed a lease for 180,000 square feet at 85 Tenth Ave., a brick former Nabisco cookie factory by the High Line, according to Vornado Realty Trust, one of the building’s landlords.

Speaking on Vornado’s earnings call Tuesday, Vornado executive David Greenbaum described the deal as a “major lease” at the building. Vornado is a lender on the 1913-built property, and the company “effectively” owns a 50% stake with developer Related Cos., Mr. Greenbaum said. Read More »

It’s getting expensive for New York University to expand its campus in the heart of Manhattan.

The school last week paid $157 million for a pair of adjoining buildings at 404 Lafayette St. and 708 Broadway, NYU said.

With just 151,000 square feet between them, that comes out to more than $1,000 per square foot for a pair of vacant properties, a price that would have been nearly inconceivable a few years ago in the low-slung neighborhood south of Union Square. Read More »